Religious Ed Programs

[justnmartr]

I am starting a job as a Director of Religious Ed in a few months and want to know if anyone knows of a good program. I know of the Faith and Life series but I am looking for something different. Please include web addresses. God Bless

 

[Joannm]

I am starting a job as a Director of Religious Ed in a few months and want to know if anyone knows of a good program. I know of the Faith and Life series but I am looking for something different. Please include web addresses. God Bless

Many diocese have listings of series that they allow in their diocese. We have a list of several that we can choose from. Why don’t you check with the diocese or talk to other DRE’s in your diocese. OUr diocese has samples of books you can look through before a parish decides.

 

[rainy918]

We use Finding God… is this different?

loyolapress.com/educational-programs.htm

 

[Corki]

Many diocese have listings of series that they allow in their diocese. We have a list of several that we can choose from. Why don’t you check with the diocese or talk to other DRE’s in your diocese. OUr diocese has samples of books you can look through before a parish decides.

Besides the diocisan office, if you contact the publishers they will often send you samples.

We use Faith and Life for CCE but at my kids’ school they use Faith First (Legacy). I have been pleasantly surprized by it.

faithfirst.com/

I have also used in the past, and really liked for the younger kids, Image of God.

ignatius.com/Textbooks/Catechism-ImageOfGod.aspx?SID=1

 

[Joannm]

We also have to be careful not to use anything not approved for use in our diocese. That is why it is important to use them as the first point when making a decision on a program.

 

[kage_ar]

After you see what is approved by your Bishop, the next question is…

What does your Pastor want to use?

 

[maryjk]

We use Faith and Life for CCE but at my kids’ school they use Faith First (Legacy). I have been pleasantly surprized by it.

We use Faith First (Legacy) and I find it watered down.

In fact, when I saw the thread, before I read it, I was just going to post, Don’t use Faith First.

 

[Corki]

We use Faith First (Legacy) and I find it watered down.

In fact, when I saw the thread, before I read it, I was just going to post, Don’t use Faith First.

I wonder if that’s the difference between the CCE and the school versions. We looked at Faith First (the original, not Legacy) for CCE before we went with Faith and Life. It was very “lite”. I still much prefere F&L but it only comes in the single version. A CCE teacher has to chose what to cover since it it impossible to do it all in 50 minutes per week. That’s a lot of extra work to put on teachers.

But, as I said, I have only seen the school version of FF(Legacy) up close.

Marykj,

What would you chose?

 

[maryjk]

Marykj,

What would you chose?

Faith and Life

That’s was we used. And what we will go back to.

I stopped using it when I put my son in the Confirmation Class. He really hasn’t gotten anything out of the class. And I want him to be well grounded. So we will go back next year and do the 8th grade book.

 

[Joannm]

I wonder if that’s the difference between the CCE and the school versions. We looked at Faith First (the original, not Legacy) for CCE before we went with Faith and Life. It was very “lite”. I still much prefere F&L but it only comes in the single version. A CCE teacher has to chose what to cover since it it impossible to do it all in 50 minutes per week. That’s a lot of extra work to put on teachers.

But, as I said, I have only seen the school version of FF(Legacy) up close.

Marykj,

What would you chose?

Usually there is a difference between the school version and CCD version, because the school may have religion every day and goes into a bit more depth.

 

[kage_ar]

I still much prefere F&L but it only comes in the single version. A CCE teacher has to chose what to cover since it it impossible to do it all in 50 minutes per week. That’s a lot of extra work to put on teachers.

quote]

Have used Faith and Life for 3 years now. The publisher provides excellent lesson plans geared for the weekly CCD/RE teacher with a 50 minute class!

ignatius.com/Textbooks/FaithAndLIfe/downloads.htm

I pray we NEVER go back to Faith First, it is too fluffy.

 

[Chris-WA]

Want to do your parish the biggest favor ever? Get an adult program going that meets at the same time as the kids and focuses on the truths of Catholicism. Here is an excellent program where you can’t go wrong:

saintjoe.com/prodinfo.asp?number=8000

There is a lot of junk out there put out by dissenting groups of liberal progressives who think they know better than the magisterium. Instead, try sticking to programs that uphold all the truths of Catholicism.

 

[HouseArrest]

Besides the diocisan office, if you contact the publishers they will often send you samples.

We use Faith and Life for CCE but at my kids’ school they use Faith First (Legacy). I have been pleasantly surprized by it.

faithfirst.com/

I have also used in the past, and really liked for the younger kids, Image of God.

ignatius.com/Textbooks/Catechism-ImageOfGod.aspx?SID=1

Our school “uses Faith First” as well at the insistance of the diocese. I put that in quotations because they are using it if you look at it from the outside - but there is no way there is enough material in those books for a Catholic school religion class. Our teachers are supplementing big time. I say that because your’s may be too.

It is fluffy, and there are a few questionable entries in the books, but for the most part the information is correct.

 

[Highwayhound]

Whatever choice you make please do not ignore other resources.

My class this year has had guests such as a young married couple who were chaste until marriage, a speaker about abortion, Sister Juanita, and there are more to come. We use videos, books on saints and last but not least the Bible.

God bless

 

[Snowymom]

Has anyone heard anything about the Christ our Life series by Loyola Press? My diocese approved it for use, and I was thinking of using it next year with my first grader. God Bless!

 

[zaramarie81]

Whatever choice you make please do not ignore other resources.

My class this year has had guests such as a young married couple who were chaste until marriage, a speaker about abortion, Sister Juanita, and there are more to come. We use videos, books on saints and last but not least the Bible.

God bless

This sounds like a great Religious Ed experience!

 

[OrdainedPraise]

I’ve been a catechist for second graders in the past and this year I am a Catechist for 7th graders. I’ve utilized Christ Our Life and Finding God - both by Loyola Press. I recommend this series for the younger grades. I was able to get alot of ideas from the material. All the children seemed to love what was taught to them and received a great knowledge of and desire to receive Holy Eucharist. I also recommend it for the older grades but there is more group & simple writing activities involved at this level. As you may know, some 7th graders need to be taught in a stimulating way. I still get alot of ideas but need to be more creative at times to keep some of my students interested. I’ve even created a simple form where the 7th graders had to ‘fill in the blanks’ to bible verses. They loved this. I got the idea from one of the black line masters in this series. Many of their black line masters provide great activities for the children. So the material is helping me get new ideas if I need them. Some of my students are better capable at engaging in the simple reading/writing activities than others. Therefore, I may try to shorten some of these activities if I can come up with an idea. I am a huge fan of engaging in writing activities but am aware that many children would rather not have to write. I am thankful that the Holy Spirit has inspired me to be creative and come up with some of my own ideas to meet the needs of the children.

 

[Joe_5859]

Don’t forget to check the USCCB Conformity Listing of texts that have been found to be in conformity with the Catechism. Of course, some texts are still better than others…

Others gave good advice. You need to know what regulations the diocese has, and what the pastor wants. Sometimes, your hands will be tied. Sometimes, it will be up to you.

The most important thing to do is to have well-trained catechists who are on fire for their faith. A good catechist can make up for what is lacking in a textbook series, and a bad catechist can take even a good textbook and render it useless and ineffective. Catechist formation should be any DRE’s top priority.